RIP Beau Biden

[Content Note: Death.]

Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, who had served as Delaware's Attorney General, was an officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, and was an Iraq War veteran, died Saturday from brain cancer.

Vice President Biden released this statement on behalf of their family:

It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.

The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau's spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.

Beau's life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware's Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.

In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

I am so profoundly sad for the Biden family. Beau was one of Joe Biden's two children who survived a terrible auto accident in which his first wife and daughter Naomi were killed in 1972. To lose him now, I can't even imagine.

My condolences to Beau Biden's family, friends, colleagues, and constituents. He seemed like a very decent man.